gdh

I'll have to take a look at the lloyds app, our nearest bank is 30miles now and when you're sales are 70% cheques that gets annoying...

Sorry to hear you're having to stop. Is it stacked or loose, just thinking how to measure the amount?

Looks impressive, I imagine their won't be many cars left on junctions. If it's a mini digger I wonder if you could mount it on the front or get into the trailer... Even if it was by making a door in the side.

As said above it's hard to be in the middle, you can make money on a small scale by getting cheap/free wood from other jobs. I think more people are realising the value of wood now but that's another discussion. You can also make money on a larger scale but it's very difficult with constant price rises on inputs and sourcing timber. You can do a surprising amount with a chainsaw and splitter but to go into the hundreds of tons you need to start thinking about machinery and that's where the costs start to rocket... You start with a processor but that needs a tractor to power it, it's quicker with a loader so you get one of those, then you want a forwarding trailer to get logs in so you want a bigger tractor for the road. Then you need more storage space so you buy ibcs, they get wet so you build a shed which can't hold enough so you get a kiln which is heated by chip so you get a chipper which needs a second tractor by which point your processor needs replacing.. My vague point is there's still money to be made if you expand but not a lot and where do you stop? ? Firewood is our main business by the way and it's getting harder but we've no plans to stop in the immediate future.

It's the winching that could be the deal breaker, that makes it a bigger job than just turning up with a forwarding trailer, felling and picking up. If you have the time/ability you would probably be better off felling and stacking it yourself then selling the stack. If you got 5 ton of straight timber you could get a couple of hundred quid if you're lucky which would also more than pay for someone else on a saw if you're not confident on felling.

We net the tidier bits for kindling then tip the rest. That picture has a lot in because I was using the 12way splitter but there's normally less so not a big issue.

Haha, I hate the stuff with a passion. They constantly go sideways in the splitting chamber, it's a lot more cutting and it takes more to make a load.

I've been cutting 6inch logs which I hate because it's so slow, luckily some nice ash made things better.

Every year I somehow find myself watching. That final bit of voting was cruel but also hilarious...

If anyone is bored and wants to scare themselves with some list prices the valtra builder is quite interesting. https://configurator.valtra.com/index.html?session=PPPBJ0HJPXZ0JXPRZZH&sessiontimeout=&sSendToAgco=0&hauptfenster=index.html&bAngebotLaden=0&bAngebotErstellen=0&bNewCustomer=0&StammdatenChange=0&bVertragLaden=0&bVertragErstellen=0&gruppeID=7&bCompareMenu=0&bQuoteLoad=0&iArrow=1&bBestellungLaden=0&bBestellungErstellen=0&bConfigShow=0&fDiscountMachine=0&bAngebotSpeichern=1&iBackToQuotation=0&internid=0&AccessoriesCounter=0&isContractQuote=QUOTE&DisabledCustomer=0&MultiQuoteParID=0&AllCheckedMulti=0&action=&ActTimeTo=convert(varchar%2C+getdate()%2C+112)&BasisCheck=FALSE&ConfQuotCont=Conf

It's always hard finding decent second hand kit, especially trying to find out how they've been used. There's a few more here: https://www.agriaffaires.co.uk/advertisements/results/1.html?t=1557615246

No idea what size you're looking for but this just popped up on a local (mis Wales) dealers Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/301270343415681/posts/1094023710807003/

Can't get a lot for sawdust but horse,cattle or sheep bedding is where ours goes.

If you've got something to push up against and a reasonably level floor a bucket shouldn't be a problem. Just bear in mind every time you move it you'll knock more bark and rubbish off into the logs and probably best not to get one with teeth. Boxes and bags are easier but a big expense and it's surprising how how much time you'll spend loading and levelling them. If you're cutting a big heap try and divide it up and get maximum airflow. We started out like you and it's amazing how fast a small patch of white mold will spread through 50tons...

Thanks, looks tidy stuff.

Random thoughts: If you're looking second hand try and find one that has been well serviced. Hours should only be used as a guide - 5000 hours running a firewood processor is better than 3000 of haulage for example. My experience tends to be with larger tractors but I find that 6000 hours of average use is where you start to get major issues. The flipside of that is might have just had a new gearbox etc if you buy it at that age. Look at the tyres, if they need replacing you'll easily spend 1-2k. Aggriaffaires is worth a look but it's better to go private with a local or through a dealer for backup. If you're looking at running newer machinery check it's got enough spools. There's a ton of minor checks to do when buying but I'll leave that to someone who knows better than me.

Selling the equipment is no problem, although arguably you'd get a better price individually but a business has very little value unless you have contracts in place to prove it would give you income. I know a few people who have failed to sell but no one who has unfortunately.

Did you check it was 2 stroke oil you put in to the mix? When someone put straight petrol in my 357 it seized completely rather than fail, the only similar problem I've had was with a perished pipe on a brand new saw. I think the 550/60s are the best all round saw in every way.... except reliability.

It seems balanced and handles well on a 24 but doesn't struggle if you do want to go bigger.

The 12 and 16 way splitters are very good for big logs and make tidy stuff but they need a fair bit of power and they're only worth it for large diameters - putting logs through that are only slightly bigger than the inner ring just results in 4 nice pieces and a ring of kindling. We've got a 4, 12 and 6way currently on our 480+ and with a small amount of grading the logs to go through first and an extra sorting grate on the end of the conveyor we're making tidy stuff.

I've also seen 2 planks of wood, the width of bags apart, with nails sticking up to hang the bags on so you can do a few at once.

572, 576, 560x2 and 550 for daily use (cutting firewood and a bit of felling). A top handle oleo Mac (I'll probably be told off for having one on the ground ;)) and a load of oleo mac saws in pieces and on a drill because they uses to be our go to saws. A couple of eighties stihls somewhere as well.

Fuelwood do one for the manual heizohacks. It's got a stop/start button, one for forwards and one you hold for reverse. Costs around £1400 I think.

That's the maximum, I've seen it offered at that but I've never seen anyone who has paid it.. yet. In some areas you can still get it for £60. Here in mid Wales is around £68 delivered going up to £70 now. Softwood isn't much cheaper anymore either.

I've also just got a 572 and it's good so far, seems to cut slightly faster than my 576 and feels more like a 560 with a bigger bar (24inch) than a big saw but in a good way. On a side note the new husqvarna chain seems to perform better when cutting with the grain than other chains but that might just be me.